Aurangzeb (1618 – 1707)

Biography:

• He was born in November 1618 at Dahod.

• His father was Shah Jahan and he was the youngest among
brothers.
• He was the viceroy of Deccan kingdoms from 1636 to 1644
and 1654 to 1658.
• He dethroned his father and became emperor.

Aurangzeb as a Person:

• He was deeply religious, self-disciplined and industrious.

• He spent his time writing copies of the Holy Quran.
• He was ruthless but avoided shedding blood unnecessarily.
• His courage in battle was undeniable.

Aurangzeb as an Emperor:

• Shah Jahan left the Empire larger than ever, but Aurangzeb
spent most of Empire’s wealth in wars.
• He was very religious and his religious reforms against Non-
Muslims received much criticism.
• He appointed theologians to assemble a book of Islamic law,
named as ‘Fatawa-al-Alamgiriya’.
• His goal as a ruler was to rule all over India.

Aurangzeb’s Role in the Decline:

• Aurangzeb was the last great Mughal empire and he spent

most of his rule fighting Marhattas and Rajputs. 
• During the final years of Aurangzeb's rule, the problems in the
Mughal Empire started to rise.

Following are the major reasons that led to the decline of the
Mughal Empire:

The War Against Marhattas:

• He started the war against Marhattas and created enemies for

Mughals in the south region.
• The Marhattas defeated the Mughal army in 1737 and took
over Malwa.
• It was a long war that continued for twenty-five years due to
which the state was left unattended and weakened the empire.

The Downfall of Economy & High Tax:

• The war costed the treasury drastically and the Empire’s

economy in a miserable state.
• To cover up the loss, Jizya (tax) was imposed on Muslims and
the people started disliking him.

Religious Reforms:

• He destroyed Hindu temples.

• He enforced Hindus and Sikhs to live their life with respect to
Quran.
• He made Hindus agitated by banning Satee.

Extravagance:

• He spent money on his luxuries.

• He built a pearl mosque for his personal use.
• He built palaces.
• His luxuries further weakened the economy.

The War of Succession:

• To get the throne, Aurangzeb had to fight with his brothers but
this war for throne turns out to be heavy on the treasury.
• Therefore, to avoid this situation among his three sons, he
divided the entire empire but in vain.
• They still fought over the throne, Prince Muazzam rise as the
victor but he died after a few years. 
• Jahandar Shah was murdered within a year of being a victor.
• The succession disputes also affected the army strength
because different fractions of the army men were supporting
different princes making the empire vulnerable.
• After the death of Aurangzeb, there were 12 claims on the
throne within ten years.
• In 1719, Muhammad Shah became the emperor. He was the
last to claim the throne.

Eventual Break of the Mughal Empire After 1707

• After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire eventually

declined and inevitably broke. However, since it was a very
successful Empire, it still took 150 more years for its definite
end.

Following are the reasons that made the Mughal Empire fall:

The Challenges of The Empire:

• It was an empire that was difficult to administrate.

• The disputes of succession take a huge toll on the treasury.
Aurangzeb tried to defend from it but failed.
• The cost on the wars to stop rebellions like Nadir Shah was
heavy.

Rebel by Locals:

• Since the empire was very large, it became to keep an eye on

everyone and stop rebellion from the locals.
• The locals who were in power such as the Zamindars
(landlords) built their armies.
• After the death of Aurangzeb, they grew stronger, denied to
make tax payments and accept any new emperor.

Rebel by Princes:

• As the Mughal Empire weakened, the Princes started rebelling

to rule areas independently.
• They tried to rule areas that are far from the Emperors reach
and didn’t make any contributions to the Empire’s treasury.

Rebel by Nawabs:

• The provincial governors, known as the ‘Nawabs’ were very

important in carrying out the instructions for the Emperor and
Empire.
• Their loyalty towards the Mughals weakened as they became
stronger and powerful.
• In the 1720s, The Nawabs separated themselves from the
Imperial control and stopped sending revenues to the Empire's
treasury.

Rebel by Marhattas:
• It was considered as the most serious reason for the decline of
Mughals.
• Aurangzeb failed to defeat Marhattas before his death.
• Under the leadership of Sivaji, the Marhattas power expanded.
• In 1737, they defeated the Mughal army outside Delhi and
took over Malwa.
• In 1760, the even captured Delhi.
• They became the most powerful people during the middle of
the century.

Invasion by Afghans & Persians:

• Since the Mughal Empire was divided within itself, it became

vulnerable to external invasions.
• The first armed invasion was led by Afghans and Persians.
• In 1738-1739, under the leadership of Nadir Shah, the
Persians launched an invasion.
• The invasion by Persians was nothing more than a successful
looting expedition. 
• They looted the famous Peacock Throne, jewels and gold and
returned home.
• During 1747 – 1769, ten invasions were launched by the
Afghan leader Ahmed Shah in northern India.

Military Weakness & Extravagance:

• The Mughal army became over-confident that resultant in their

downfall.
• The Mughals became self-observant and started spending
their wealth on personal pleasures.

Role of East India in the Decline of Mughal Empire

Background:
• During the fifteenth century, as the sea routes opened, new
trade opportunities created for the Western world.
• The extravagance, wealth and splendor of the Mughals
attracted the Europeans to do business in India.
• At first, the Europeans seemed completely harmless business
traders.
• They were interested in Indian spices, cotton, gold, jewels,
and metalworks of India to trade.
• Trading posts were established along with military outposts by
Europeans, Dutch, Portuguese and French with cooperation
from the Mughals.
• Mughals saw the opportunity of higher profit by their trade and
gave them their support.

The British Takeover 

• The East India Company was established by merchants.

• In 1750, the British East India Company gained supremacy
among their competitors especially French, in the form of British
East India Company.
• The East India Company created a private army and played
an integral role in the establishment of British rule. 
• The decline of Mughals and the downfall of Marhattas allowed
British to take hold of India.
• They wanted to take control of all trade routes to eliminate
competitors as most of the trades passed through the sub-
continent.
• The East India Company got bankrupt and after the War of
Independence 1857.
• The British Government has seen the failure of the East India
Company as an opportunity to take over India by blaming the
company for the War of Independence
• The British Government seized assets of the company.
 British Expansion in the Sub-Continent to 1857

Resistance to British:

• In 1686, the East India Company (EIC) refused to pay taxes to

the Mughal Empire. 
• Aurangzeb sent forces and defeated the British.
• Due to this defeat, a heavy fine was imposed on them by
Aurangzeb to continue their trade.
• Additionally, in 1756, Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal
also attacked EIC’s base in Calcutta.
• The British were again defeated, and the city of Calcutta was
captured.
• Both resistances show the power of Mughals had while
Aurangzeb was alive as well as the bravery of local rulers after
his death.

The Rise of British:

• In 1764, the rulers of Orissa, Bihar, Bengal, and the Mughal

Emperor Shah Alam II were defeated by British strengthening
their position in the sub-continent.
• In 1782, Warren Hastings – the first Governor ended the first
Marhattas War by signing an agreement removing the threat of
Marhattas power looming over them.
• The Marhattas was strong and didn't allow the British to
capture their land but rather agreed for negotiations. 
• Another Sikh ruler, Ranjit Singh was a threat and would not
have let the British enter into Punjab but an agreement was
signed of everlasting friendship in 1809.
• Tipu Sultan and Haider Ali, the Nawabs of Maysore also
resisted British but were defeated and killed in 1799.
Tipu Sultan:

 Tipu Sultan was a Nawab of Maysore.

 Tipu Sultan along with Nawab Haider Ali fought with the British.
 He didn’t let the British capture the lands and proved to be a successful resistance against them for some
 However, in 1799, Maysore was invaded by Generally Wellesley and Tipu Sultan was killed.

• In 1903, the Mughal Emperor of Delhi, Shah Alam was forced

by British that he was ruling under their protection making the
British the indirect rulers of Delhi.
• The Industrial revolution and advanced weaponry of British
also gave them an edge over the Indian rules who were using
the outdated weaponry.

The Annexations by British:

Afghanistan (1839):

• Russia wanted to expand its territory which made the British

afraid.
• They invaded Afghanistan but faced many difficulties including
the locals and terrain.
• Within two years, the Afghans rebelled and killed all of the
4000 British men except a doctor who reported the incident.

Sindh (1843):

• After facing a shameful defeat by hands of Afghan, the British

were enraged.
• Under the leadership of Sir Charles Napier, they invaded
Sindh to not only restore their pride but also to capture Bolan
Pass, which was an important route.
• It was a shameful act because they violated the signed
agreement with the Amirs of Sindh.
Punjab & NWFP:

• The British were afraid of Ranjit Singh, Sikh ruler of Punjab

and wanted the Khyber Pass and Indus River trade route in
their control.
• The Sikhs were aware of the looming threat and attacked the
British in 1845, it was the first Sikh War.
• In 1848 – 1849, the second Sikh War started, the British
defeated them and took over Punjab along with NWFP.